Finally, and were it not from Keith Olbermann --- who regular BRAD BLOG readers will recognize to be an exceptionally sloppy "journalist" --- we might have said "most notably" and added a siren to this item, Olbermann reports on his blog that "it appeared all but certain in early evening Wednesday that House Democrats had secured the support of up to half a dozen Senators to formally challenge the Electoral College slate from Ohio".

He also mentions an interesting twist that we hadn't thought of before concerning the fact that a quorum may not be present tomorrow to debate such a challenge should at least one House Member and one Senate Member sign on to the challenge.

That thought, actually, puts another in our head: While it's assumed that any such challenge would ultimately be rejected by the House and Senate after debate, that assumption is based on the fact that Democrats are outnumbered in both houses. However, that "conventional wisdom" could be turned on its head if a quorum does exist to allow both debate and vote on any such challenge, but if Democratic members outnumber Republicans at tomorrow's session...well...there could be a few surprises waiting...

John Kerry has just sent a pathetic email to the supposed 3 million members of his email list.

He has said that he will not be "taking part in a formal protest of the Ohio Electors", and urges his supporters to support Electoral System reform.

We, of course, support such reform, but that is for the future. And the way to that future is helped by challenging the enormously flawed election of 2004 tomorrow in Congress' Joint Session.

Here is a portion of Kerry's email [emphasis in the original]:

Tomorrow, members of Congress will meet to certify the results of the 2004 presidential election. I will not be taking part in a formal protest of the Ohio Electors.

Despite widespread reports of irregularities, questionable practices by some election officials and instances of lawful voters being denied the right to vote, our legal teams on the ground have found no evidence that would change the outcome of the election.

But, that does not mean we should abandon our commitment to addressing those problems that happened in Ohio. We must act today to make sure they never happen again.

I urge you to join me in using this occasion to highlight our demand that Congress commit itself this year to reforming the electoral system. A Presidential election is a national federal election but we have different standards in different states for casting and counting votes. We need a national federal standard to solve the problems that occurred in the 2004 election. I will propose legislation to help achieve this.

Florida 2000 was a wake up call. But the Republicans who control Congress ignored it. Will they now ignore what happened in 2004?

Yes, Senator. They will ignore it, and we thank you for giving them the opportunity to do so.

As we have said many times on these pages, this issue has never been about John Kerry. (As regular BRAD BLOG readers may know by now, we didn't even vote for him ourselves!) Nor has this ever been about "changing the outcome of the election" as Kerry asserts in the letter.

This is about the very founding principles of the world's most important democracy. Period. Whatever "election outcomes" which may occur in the process of assuring that those principles remain intact is wholly beside the point.

Attempts to reach John Kerry's office via the main Senate switchboard at 800-839-5276 were met with a voice mailbox which was full, could take no more messages, and simply disconnected us.

A call to a direct office number: 202-224-2742, offers a message saying that these are not office hours (though they are, until 6pm ET) and allows one to leave a message after the beep. DO IT!

UPDATE: You can also leave your opinion at Kerry's Boston office: 617-565-8519.

Email can also be sent to Kerry via this webform. [previously broken link, now fixed!]

We have done both ourselves, and have made it abundantly clear that if he imagines he will be receiving support from any of the Democratic base for a 2008 Presidential run --- if he does not stand up tomorrow! --- he is sorely mistaken!

We hope you will join us in making that message exceedingly clear to Senator Kerry.

Please continue, as well, to call the 800 number given above to speak to as many Senators as you can about this issue. It's difficult to get through to many of them right now, as the switchboard is going a bit crazy there right now we are told. We were recently, however, able to get through to Obama's office (and others) to express our firm support of the importance of standing up for democracy tomorrow!

Clint Curtis is currently on Capitol Hill now meeting with Senate staffers.

We can report that he has already met this morning with staffers in the office of the following Democratic Senators: Debbie Sabatow (MI), Russell Feingold (WI), Barbara Boxer (CA), Barbara Mikulski (MD) and Barack Obama (IL).

A source visting the Senate offices with Curtis tells us that so far the reception they've received from each office has been "very positive" and that "things are lit up like a Christmas tree here" with all of the Senate office phones ringing off the hook with callers urging Senators to stand up and object. Almost zero calls coming in advising the contrary as our source describes it.

At the time we talked with our source, the Democratic Senators were in "an issue meeting", and the source tells us that this issue --- the challenge to Electors tomorrow --- is described as "the major issue" being discussed.

There is no way, of course, to know the ultimate effect of all of this, but it is clear that your voices are being heard on Capitol Hill! Please continue to use the links and phone numbers we've made available in this item.

We'll continue to report on anything notable we hear that is happening on The Hill today.

Also, consider this a quick reminder that Curtis will be appearing on radio this evening with Fox News' Alan Colmes at 11pm. Details on that appearance, and a link to listen live is right here.

We tried to overlook and forgive that shame in the hopes of national unity and healing. Of course, the fact that so many of us were not wise enough to pay close enough attention to your failings at the time didn't hurt either. (And that the media didn't bother to help us is no small mark of shame for them as well!)

But that was then and this is now, and this time, we won't overlook or forgive.

You very well may win or lose your next election based on what you do tomorrow. We'll leave it to you to decide what actions may lead to which election result. We hope you use your judgement wisely.

Do your job. Support your constituents, your country, "The Rule of Law" and the U.S. Constitution.

Several heroes on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee staff have been working all night (and for the last two months for that matter) doing your work for you. To make it all easy for you to understand while you were out enjoying your holidays, and a full two months of unwinding after a hectic campaign season.

The results of their work on your behalf, and on behalf of the citizens of the United States can be seen here.

There's even an "Executive Summary", so you won't have to interrupt your meetings with lobbyists and lunches with campaign donors for too terribly long in order to comb through the full 102 pages of hard evidence, data and proof that American Voters were disenfranchised and our recent election was flawed beyond any question of a doubt.

Republican Senators -

You have been given the same package of undeniable evidence that the election system in the world's most important democracy has failed it's promise.

Read it. Or at least the "Executive Summary", since we know you're at least as busy as those Democratic Senators.

But when you read it, ask yourself (as an Emailer suggested to us this morning) that what you are reading was written after the announcement that George W. Bush was the one who LOST the state of Ohio, and the evidence you are reading concerned the failures of the electoral system in Ohio.

Do you suppose if Bush was announced as the loser in Ohio that you might feel any different about the information that has been prepared for you?

We understand politics and political necessity. We hope that you, both Democratic and Republican members of the U.S. Senate, understand that politics is a two-way street. And that it is us, the people, who will ultimately determine your ultimate fate. One way or the other.

RAW STORY has just published an explosive and partisan letter from Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell in an EXCLUSIVE which reveals Blackwell's plans to run for Governor, and in which he credits himself for "delivering" Ohio to George W. Bush!

The written plea by Blackwell to supporters asking for funds for his gubernatorial bid --- composed even while the recount of votes in Ohio was still ongoing! --- should continue to rock the vote as Congress gathers on Thursday to determine whether Ohio Electors were legally seated.

Several phrases in particular are reminiscent of the controversial fundraising letter by Walden O'Dell, the CEO of voting machine manufacturer Ohio-based Diebold, Inc., sent to Republicans in the summer of 2003 when he promised his committment "to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year."

Blackwell, proudly crows, on several occasions, about his role as Ohio's Co-Chair of Bush/Cheney '04 and refers to "helping deliver the great Buckeye State for George W. Bush."

In speaking of his personal role in keeping "an unapologetic liberal Democrat named John Kerry" from winning, Blackwell says, "you and I stopped that disaster from happening!"

More excerpts from the letter are now posted below.

The extraordinarily partisan and combative letter overfloweth with enough far-right Christian Republican buzzwords and phrases to make even Karl Rove's brain spin!

The letter even speaks --- presumably without irony --- of Blackwell's role in "preventing" voter-fraud in Ohio's 2004 election!

Most of our excerpts here refer to Blackwell's role in Election 2004, though a few are just thrown in for good Liberal-bashin', God-fearin' fun! [All emphasis replicates the original underscoring and footnotes added to appear as though the various items were underlined or checkmarked by hand.]...

As the Co-Chairman of Bush/Cheney '04 in Ohio, I want to say thank you for helping deliver the great Buckeye State for George W. Bush.

Without your enthusiasm, generous support and vote, I'm afraid the President would have lost...

...And an unapologetic liberal Democrat named John Kerry would have won.

Thankfully, you and I stopped that disaster from happening!

[...]

That's why in the late hours of Election Night, I was truly pleased to announce President Bush had won a critical and clinching victory here in Ohio, on the belief that it was statistically improbably for Senatory Kerry to recover.

[...]

I have never shied away from giving the liberals fits. And I'm sure that with all of the potential voter-fraud we prevented during this last election, they will be looking to get even with me in my next political campaign.

...After much thought and prayer, I am asking for your personal support in my campaign to become the next Governor of Ohio.

As Secretary of State, I have been sued almost 30 times since this summer because I stood up for the rights of voters like you and against liberal trial laywers and activist judges who wanted to give this election to Senator Kerry.

I don't compromise for the sake of winning kudos from the media, and I have been accused on more than one occasion of having "rocked the boat" in Columbus against the express wishes of the liberal special interests.

[...]

My Christian parents taught me that if I did what was right, nobody could ever deny me the success I strived for.

When the ACLU and other members of the radical left worked to stop me from cracking down and prohibiting outrageous ways to commit voter fraud, I fought back and won.

** I never bowed to political pressure and stuck to my guns. I was completely vindicated when I prevailed before the Supreme Court and the federal appellate court.

[...]

I can assure you that John Kerry's liberal allies here in Ohio are hoping to throw my campaign under a bus as soon as they can, and I will need every penny I can to fight back.

So sayeth the man responsible for a free, fair, transparent and non-partisan Presidential Election in Ohio.

As of this evening, he is also still ducking all attempts by attorneys to take a deposition from him concerning the Election Fraud case filed with the Ohio Supreme Court.

UPDATE: It has been requested that we post the full text of Blackwell's letter. So here it is, courtesy of a BRAD BLOG reader...

We've just received word from the producer of Fox News Live with Alan Colmes on the Fox News Radio Network that Clint Curtis will be appearing live tomorrow night (Wednesday) as Colmes' guest at 11pm ET.

We will attempt to record the hour if possible to make the audio available later as an update to this item for those who can't listen live. Though we're not always successful at such audio captures, and appreciate anyone else who may be able to attempt same as a backup for us.

As previously reported, Curtis will be in D.C. tomorrow to participate in a number of rallies and attend several meetings on Capitol Hill and elsewhere.

We have also learned that the hearing led by outgoing Florida Democrat, Congressman Peter Deutsch, which had been announced in this news release, likely will not occur as scheduled.

Our sources in the Judiciary Committee have informed us that the Republicans revoked the privilege for Democrats to use the hearing room one they heard what the hearing was to have been about.

Anyone surprised?

UPDATE: 1/6/05 Colmes gave Curtis a good (and very tough) grilling! Happy to hear it! And I think he stood up well to the questioning. I heard no inconsistencies in his story.

If just half of the people who read this blog every day take the time to call, fax or email U.S. Senators asking them to join Conyers' challenge to the Electoral Results, the Senators will be drowning in calls, faxes and emails.

If you (and I do mean you) have been sitting on your hands hoping that things would get better...somehow...then you too are responsible for whatever it is this country (and world) may become as a result of your inaction.

If you hope to see a change in the results of a horribly tainted election, hope to see George W. Bush's phony "mandate" and self-proclaimed "political capital" be exposed for the opportunistic fraud that it is, or hope to see real Election Reform in the future so that such questionable outcomes like the one we've seen in 2004 simply can no longer occur due to a reliable and transparent election system, then you must act NOW.

Here are a few things you can do today. We recommend you do as many of them as possible:

Call your Senator by phone at 1-800-839-5276 and demand that they join Conyers in objecting to Electors not seated by the Rule of Law!!

Email your Senators through True Majority and demand that they join Conyers in objecting to Electors not seated by the Rule of Law!

Email several Senators through Progressive Democrats of America and demand that they join Conyers in objecting to Electors not seated by the Rule of Law!

FAX a few Senators! [UPDATED Link to different Fax-o-matic, probs reported with previous link!]

Use the "Email it someone!" link at the bottom of this blog item to send this info to everybody you know!

As they say on TV...Act NOW! And as if your democracy depended on it! You have but one full day left to take advantage of this great offer! Don't delay! Start clicking! Start dialing!

Make noise. It does make a difference!

UPDATE 1/5/05 3:25pm PT:Please see the several latest items for updates on activities in D.C. today, and various information about contacting Senators, etc. This is just a quick update to mention that after being unable to get through to Sen. Barbara Boxer's office in D.C. and Los Angeles for the last three hours or so, I was finally able to get through to her San Diego office at (619) 239-3884. There are additional numbers for her at her website here.

They are open until at least 4:30pm PT, and have told me that currently the tally for this one operator at the San Diego Office is currently approximately 250 calls in favor her challenging, and 10 against.

We have some crazy memories. Wasn't it the Republican party who used to act like they gave a damn about "The Rule of Law! The Rule of Law!" --- yeah, we think it was the Republican party.

In the meantime, "The Rule of Law" no longer seems to matter at all in Ohio, and apparently --- by extension --- in the United States of America.

And yet, it's difficult to find a Republican who seems to care about that notion anymore...or equal protection under the law, or statewide standards, or all those things they acted like they cared about back in 2000.

We suppose they must have just been kidding about all of that.

Well, we're not kidding about that. We give a damn about "The Rule of Law". We did then, and we do now.

And with 86 of the 88 counties in Ohio not recounted according to The Rule of Law, and Ohio Secretary of State, J. Kenneth Blackwell who is supposed to be in charge of open, fair, free, unbiased and transparent elections cynically ducking legal depositions in the case, refusing to answer all congressional U.S. Judiciary Committee inquiries about the election, and simply continue to run out the clock until his candidate, George W. Bush wins "by default"....Well, I guess there's a reason he was also named co-Chair for the Bush/Cheney Re-Election Committee in the state.

What a fraud.

The "Rule of Law" is a sham. And every Republican, be they elected official or simply American citizen who sits on their hands and says nothing, knows that they are frauds.

A source in Bill Nelson's office has informed The BRAD BLOG that Nelson is seriously taking a look at the issue, and is currently amidst meetings and phone calls on the very topic.

As it is their "first day back to work since the holidays," as the staffer who wished to keep their name off the record told us, much is currently "up in the air" for the moment. Therefore, the source told us, they "cannot confirm anything as of yet."

The staffer was willing to tell us off the record, in regard to whether Nelson will join the challenge, that "I am hoping that he will. And so is he...There are many of us in the office who are hoping he will do so."

Pressed about the "so is he" comment, the staffer explained that Nelson has been a long time campaigner for "higher voter accountability" and is troubled by many of the reports he's seen concerning the results of Election 2004.

The staffer told The BRAD BLOG that Nelson has been in communication with Sen. John Kerry, and is currently "waiting to hear back" from him. They could not, however, tell us what the results of those communication have been so far.

UPDATE 2:30pm PT: Conflicting information has now been giving to us by Nelson's Press Secretary...And additional info from a source on the Judiciary Committee... Both reports updated here shortly!

UPDATE 3:03pm PT:The BRAD BLOG has now been contacted by Bryan Gulley, the Press Secretary for Senator Bill Nelson. Gulley has said in an email to us that our report is "completely false".

While we are pleased to report the information from Gulley, we stand by our original report of what we were told this morning by a Nelson staffer as being 100% accurate. We reported precisely what we were told.

Gully, however, understandably takes issue with the information that we were told and reported above. He has given this statement to us via email within the last hour:

Senator Nelson believes valid concerns have been raised about the conduct of the election, but that no conclusive evidence has been presented to warrant overturning the results. Absent such evidence, Senator Nelson doesn't at this time feel he can support a congressional challenge.

Meantime, he's awaiting the findings by several government agencies that are investigating allegations of voter irregularities. And in the upcoming session of Congress, he intends to file legislation to further improve our election process.

After having been given similar information from a RAW STORY reporter earlier (which is now being reported here), in regards to our story, we spoke with a source on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee staff to inquire whether or not they have had any contact with Nelson's office on this matter.

Our source reported that, "To my knowledge, we haven't had any contact with him or his staff".

After we read Nelson's Press Secretary's statement to our source, they told us --- "with all due consideration to Senator Nelson, who has been incredible in fighting for voter-verified paper trails and other important election reform causes in the past" --- that perhaps Nelson's office was currently "setting the bar too high" for what is constitutionally required to challenge the Electoral votes in Congress.

According to our source, "I think that what he's articulated as what it'll take to challenge the Electors is higher than the Constitituion requires. It does not require evidence that will overturn the election. It simply requires evidence that the Electors were not legally appointed, which means that there were substantial illegal actions within a state."

That information would seem to be borne out by information on the Constitutional and statutory implementations concerning the challenge of Electors, which our article had previously pointed to.

"What it means," our source continued, is that "The threshold question for a Senator is not whether Sen. Kerry would have won Ohio...The threshold question is whether there is substantial and credible evidence that there were significant illegalities in the conduct of a state's election. In other words: Did Ohio follow it's own law and the Federal law and the Constitution in implementing it's election. That's the question that needs to be answered when considering the challenging of Electors."

To that end, The BRAD BLOG has been told that Rep. John Conyers' office and the U.S. House Judiciary Committee staffers, "anticipate" in the next day that they "will release a major report that will detail that full body of evidence. And will be sending it to every Senator."

The source added, "It will make it absolutely crystal clear what the standard is for challenging Electors."

The BRAD BLOG will, of course, continue to follow these developments throughout the week as the January 6th date nears for ratifying (or not) the Electoral College votes in a joint session of Congress.

We haven't been able to give one of those out to a Republican for quite a few weeks (months?) --- so we're pleased that BRAD BLOG commenter, "Bando Bling", has pointed us towards Eldritch's brilliant letter.

Please read the entire thing. Particularly you apologists for the Bush Administration who still consider yourselves either Republican or --- more ironically still --- "conservatives".

Here's a few key passages in the meantime. After describing the proud and storied history of a once great Republican party, Eldritch goes on to ask...

So what the Hell happened?

If Republicans gave a single thought to their origins they would know they are the ones who would stand up for personal liberties, not disfranchise people for their lifestyles, beliefs and financial circumstances.

They are the original party of 'an ye harm none, do as ye will'. If you are a Republican you should know what that means, in which case you should also realize that such a philosophy is no longer in practice in your party.

When 'Republicans' become the party of suppression we are in dire straights indeed.
Banning people from the pursuit of happiness when they harm no one is very un-republican.
Casting the ideas and lifestyles of others as 'evil' while not having dealt in earnest with those individuals is petty and graceless.

Assuming those who disagree with you are not patriots is childish, they may know something you don't.

Ignorance is VERY un-patriotic.

Learn about your issues before you claim to be in my party.

Talk to people on the 'other side' and understand their perspective before you claim to be Republican. You may SAY you understand --- but if you have demonized anyone at all, you do not.

If you say 'Those Liberals' are like this and 'The Conservatives' are like that; if you claim that 'they' want to do 'this' or 'that' to the country, then you do not understand what 'they' really want.

The fact is --- you have become 'them' too.

Indeed. And though the divisiveness Eldritch describes above was invented by --- and has now become a staple political weapon/strategy of --- GOP operatives towards only the goal of "staying in power" rather than fighting for the good of our country, it is not only Rightwingers who are guilty in the matter...

Concerning the lawsuit filed in Ohio's Supreme Court demanding the results from a fraudulent election be set aside due to claims that votes were moved from Kerry's column to Bush's...This from today's Toledo Blade...

COLUMBUS - Partisan activists contesting the presidential election results in Ohio said the state's highest court appears willing to "allow the clock to run out" so that the Electoral College results become official on Jan. 6.

Cliff Arnebeck, an attorney who filed the election contest on behalf of a coalition of activists led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, said Secretary of State Ken Blackwell has chosen to not appear at a deposition to answer questions under oath about the Nov. 2 election.

"If George Bush indeed won this election, there would be no one with a greater interest in proving that to be the case," Mr. Arnebeck said at a news conference yesterday. "They want the clock to run out. They want to win by default."

The Republican party: "A President by default is good enough for us!"

They must be very proud.

Call us unpatriotic, but we prefer our Presidents chosen by democracy, not default.